Flue-cutter.



No. 742,915. PATENTED NOV. 3, 1903. J. M. SHERMAN.

FLUE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

E56 as 1 56 Wiigesszs Jam w 7772 Q7g l917e for,

1 I I 7 I @KW @ihforge ys 'Patented November 3, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES M. SHERMAN,'OF COLUMBIA, MISSOURI.

'FLUE-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 742,915, dated November 3, 1903. Application filed January 13, 1903. Serial No. 138.919. (No model.)

To wZZ whom it may concern,-

Be it known that 1, JAMES M. SHERMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at C0- lumbia, in the county of Boone and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Flue-Cutter, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices employed for severing tubes or flues, more particularly the flues or tubes of boilers, and has for its object to produce a more eflicient and operative device of this character by which the flues may be uniformly and evenly severed, so that they may be removed through thesameaperture in the flue-sheet through which they were originally inserted; and the invention consists in certain novel features of the construction,as hereinafter shown and described, and specified in the claims.

In the drawings illustrative of the invention, Figure 1 is alongitudinal sectional View. Fig. 2 is aview of the stock member detached. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is atransverse section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

The improved device may be adapted to cutting flues of various. diameters and thicknesses and will be manufactured in various sizes to adapt it to flues of thevarious sizes of boilers.

The improved device consists in a stock or body portion 10, preferably cylindrical centrally and threaded, as at 11, near one end and with an enlargement 12 at the other end. The enlargement 12 is provided with spaced radial longitudinal recesses, every alternate recess having a pawl 13 pivotally connected therein by one end and the remaining alternating recesses with inclined bottom sides 14, as shown, the pawls having chisel-shaped free ends adapted to be expanded into engagement with the interiors of the flue to be severed, the flue being indicated at 15 secured in the fluesheet 16 in the usual manner.

The stock 10 is hollow and supports therethrough a rod 17, the rod extending beyond the stock at both ends, as shown.

4 Upon the innerend of the rod 17 is secured a head member '18, this head member having alternating pawls 19 and inclined recesses 20 corresponding to and reversely disposed rel- .ative to the pawls 13 and recesses 14, the two head portions 12 18 being so arranged that the pawls 13 of the head member 12 enter the recesses 20 of the head member 18 and the pawls 19 of the head member 18 enter the re cesses 14 of the head member 12, as shown. By this arrangement it will be obvious that if the head member 18 be moved longitudinally relative to the head member 12 the reverselydisposed pawls 13 19 will be acted upon by the reversely-disposed inclined recesses 14 20, and thereby moved outwardly and caused to forcibly engage the interior of the flue and firmly clamp the stock member thereto.

The rod 17 is threaded where it passes through the head member 18 to enable the latter to be adjusted longitudinally on the rod and will be provided with a locking-key 21 to lock the head member in position relative to the rod after the adjustment is made to prevent it getting out of adjustment. The opposite end of the rod 17 is likewise threaded and is provided with a screw-wheel 22, abutting against the outer end of the stock 10, the revolution of the screw-wheel causing the rod to be forcibly moved longitudinally, and thus correspondingly move the head member 18 and expand the pawls 13 19, as above noted. By this simple arrangement the stock member 10 may be very quickly and firmly clamped into engagement with the interior of the flue and adjusted longitudinally therein to any desired extent.

The outer end of the stock 10 will be provided with a holding-handle 23 to enable it to be held in position while the screw-wheel 22 is being manipulated.

Surrounding the stock 10 is a cylindrical sleeve 24, rotative upon the stock, as by a ratchet-handle 25, as shown, to enable the sleeve to be rotated constantly in one direction by short vibratory movements of the lever.

The stock 10 will be provided with a wheelnut 31 upon its outer threaded end, adapted to abut against the outer end of the sleeve 24 to prevent outward movement of the sleeve relative to the flue and stock.

The inner end of the sleeve 24 is formed with an enlargement or head 26, the enlargement provided with longitudinally-disposed spaced sockets 27, in which clamp-levers 28 are pivotally supported, as by transverse pivot-bolts 29. The outer ends of the levers are curved outwardly and chisel-pointed, as at 30, and adapted when the levers are expanded to engage the interior surface of the flue and form the cutting means of the implement.

Partially embedded in the enlarged portion 26 of the stock member, intermediately of the cutting-levers 28, are antifriction-rollers 36 to assist in the action by serving as guides to the cutting means and prevent undue friction where friction would be a detriment to the proper coaction of the parts.

Means will be provided for forcibly expanding the levers, and means will likewise be provided for forcibly rotating the sleeve, and

when this is done it will be obvious that the chisel-points 30 of the levers will cut a groove around the interior of the flue and quickly sever it by a uniform cut, which will not up- 1 lugs 33, corresponding to the cutting-levers 2,8, the outer ends of the levers being each bifurcated and embracing one of the lugs, as indicated. Each of the lugs 33 is provided with an inclined slot 34:, through which guide pins or bolts 35 project from the bifurcated ends of the levers, as shown. By this arrangement it is obvious that the movement of the collar 32 longitudinally of the sleeve 24 will cause the inclined slots 34, acting upon the pins 35, to operate the levers 23, expanding the cutting ends 30 when the collar is moved in one direction andwithdrawing them when moved in the opposite direction.

The collar 32 will be forcibly moved toward the cutting-levers 28 by awheel-nut 37, engaging the threads upon the sleeve, as shown, and the reverse movement of the collar will be accomplished by clips or stops 38, attached to the nut and fitting behind an annular rib 39 on the collar, as shown. Any number of the stops may be employed, but generally two will be sufficient, as shown, as the strains in moving the collar backwardly are comparatively slight. By this arrangement of parts a very effective, compact, and positively-opcrating implement is produced, which will sever the fines without forming fins or other abrasions or protuberances thereon or otherwise efiacing or disfiguring them and rendering it necessary to collapse or bend the body portions of the flues to remove them.

The parts will preferably be formed of steel, with the cutting and clamping portions 13, 19, and 2S suitably tempered.

The parts may be modified in minor particulars without departing from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages, andI reserve the right to such modifications and alterations as may fall within the scope of the claims. I

The implement maybe employedwith equal facility for cutting off new fiues to the proper length when inserting them either into new boilers or in repairing old ones.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A fiuecutter comprising a supportingstock, means for detachably securing said stock within the flue to be severed, a sleeve rotatively disposed upon said stock,levers movably connected to said sleeve and having cutting means,a collar longitudinally adjustable upon said sleeve and having spaced inclined 1 cam-grooves, means for operatively coupling said levers to said cam-grooves, and means for forcibly moving said collar longitudinally of said sleeve, substantially as described.

2. A fine-cutter comprising a supportingstock, means for detachably securing said stock within the flue to be severed, a sleeve rotatively disposed upon said stock and internally threaded, levers movably connected to said sleeve and having cutting means, a collar longitudinally movable upon said sleeve, and having inclined camgrooves, means for movably coupling said levers to said cam-grooves, a threaded collar engaging the threaded portion of said sleeve and adapted to forcibly adjust said cam-collar relative to said sleeve, and means for rotating said sleeve and its attachments, substantially as described.

3; A flue-cutter comprising a supportingstock having spaced radial pawls, a head member movably connected to and longitudinally adjustable relative to said stock and carrying spaced pawls disposed reversely to the pawls in said stock, means for adjusting said head portion longitudinally of said stock to cause said pawls to expand into engagement with the flue and forciblyclamp said stock thereto, substantially as described.

4. A flue-cutter comprising a supportingstock having spaced radial pawls, a rod longitudinally disposed through said stock, a head member connected to said rod and having reversel-y-disposed radial pawls, means operative upon the rod for forcibly adjusting it longitudinally of the sleeve to cause said pawls to be reversely expanded into forcible engagement with the flue, substantially as described.

5. A flue-cutter comprising a supportingstock member having alternating radiallydisposed pawls and inclined sockets, a head member having reversely-disposed alternating radially disposed pawls and inclined sockets, the pawls of the head memberengaging the sockets of the stock member and the pawls of the stock memberengaging the sockets of the head member, and means for forciing lugs having inclined apertures and embraced by the bifurcated portions of said levers, and transverse pins coupling said bifurcated ends through said apertures, substan- 'tially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES M. SHERMAN.

WVitnesses:

O. W. DAVIS, HUGH M. HALL. 

